so this mix came about from the combination of a couple of diff. factors. first off, w/ no july mixes in sight i figured i'd step up to the plate and whip one together, which meant i had one night to do it in. (all in all it took me less than 3 hours from concept to finish, which is highly unusual for me.) second, since the last two mixes were so eclectic, i decided to really limit this one, in terms of both mood and genre. also, since my time was so short, i had to really rely on my memory of tracks and had to go w/ some tracks that i like but i'm not totally in love w/ b/c i didn't have time to dig out harder-to-find favorites in my collection. so, w/ that said, what i ended up doing was an indie-ish electronic music mix. i'd made an electronic mix about a year ago, but that ended up being almost entirely instrumental, so for this i went w/ songs. also, most of the electronic music i usu. put on mixes tends to be more mainstream pop (e.g. EBTG, erasure, new order, underworld), so for this i steered clear of most of the really recognizable names. it turned out that b/c of the limited genre, the mix had a definite overall feeling, namely mellow and/or melancholy, which i suppose is appropriate given the cold and rainy summer we've been having. also, a lot of the tracks i like turned out to have similar instrumentation (sparse textures, skittery beats, acoustic guitar parts, vocal effects), which i found interesting. if i'd had more time i might have tried to vary the tracks more, but i found that more upbeat tracks didn't really fit; but i hope the tracks don't all sound too similar. last comment: i was psyched that i could incorporate so many of the random (and good) people i've found online. certainly, sir and lonas are from boston, although i think the latter isn't around anymore. a lot of these tracks were ones i like, but haven't really followed up on, but now i'm glad i've reminded myself to do so. my steel will turn to flesh ... i'll shine ... 7/7/05 1 future bible heroes . memories of love . lonely days 2 state shirt . don't die . straw man 3 the egg . forwards (import) . wall 4 lonas . www.landingpartyrecords.com . io lounge 5 lamb . self-titled . gorecki 6 mju:o, jun murakami . www.sound.jp/mjuo . in the box (locked rock mix) 7 psapp . tiger my friend . leaving in coffins 8 scissor sisters . party monster (soundtrack) . it can't come quickly enough (edit) 9 lonbobby . www.dirtcheapmusic.org/lonbobby . bioluminescence 10 dizzee rascal . boy in da corner . jezebel 11 hybrid, andreas johnson . glorious (EP) . glorious (remix) 12 iglu . www.animara.net/fhpositivo . heridas (remix) 13 state shirt . don't die . it is a shame my binoculars don't work at night 14 the magnetic fields . holiday . take ecstacy with me 15 certainly, sir . mugic . sweet time 16 tristeza . mixed signals . casio 17 mju:o, bjork . www.sound.jp/mjuo . desired constellation (remix) 18 bonus track

as americans seem to lose more and more of their freedoms every day, this beautifully-written new york times editorial about judith miller is essential reading.

this will come as no surprise, but i've been bitten by the sudoku bug. for those who don't know, it's a pen-and-paper game, best described as a crossword puzzle with numbers. it's not math-y at all, though; it's purely logic. i first read about it in the ny times, and apparently it's hugely popular in japan and britain and making headway in the states. let's see who else i know gets into it (other than andy who picked up on it last time he went to england). 4th of july, so i watched the fireworks from outside my window; prob. the best and most comfortable view i've had in a while. this boston fireworks press release amused me. i like the names they've given them: "Silver Brocade Waterfalls from Japan, Weiss Blink Pupatelle from Italy, Purple & Lemon Strobe Peony with Gold Popping Pistil from China, Kamuro Rays to Fushia Strobe from Spain, PeachBlow Rainbow from China." can anyone point me to a book about how modern-day fireworks get assembled, etc.? on amazon a cursory search turns up books about how to make your own, but that's not quite what i'm looking for. anyway, happy 4th.